The present invention relates to a thumb splint for use in protecting and preventing injury to an injured or uninjured ulnar collateral ligament at the base of the thumb.
A sprain is a joint injury that causes a stretch or tear in a ligament, which is a strong band of tissue which connects one bone to another. A sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in the thumb is a common injury in skiing and commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cSkier""s Thumbxe2x80x9d. It may occur when one falls onto an outstretched thumb, bending the thumb back toward the arm. This stretches and injures the ulnar collateral ligament. It may also be caused by a skier catching a thumb on a ski pole strap. The sprain may occur in other activities when one falls onto an outstretched thumb or when a thumb gets hooked onto another player""s jersey or face mask. The injury results in pain, swelling, and tenderness at the inner part of the base of your thumb where the thumb attaches to the hand. The patient may find it difficult to hold an object in his hand and apply force with the thumb. Moving the thumb causes pain.
Treatment varies with the severity of the injury. Grade III sprain with a very loose joint requires surgery to repair the ligament. Grade I and II sprains may be treated with a cast, taping, or splinting so that the thumb does not move for up to six weeks.
The drawback of taping the thumb is that a relatively large amount of tape is required, the tape is relatively heavy and cumbersome and must be replaced relatively frequently, usually with assistance from another person.
Hand splint devices commonly used for the thumb typically utilize a rigid splint which secure the thumb in a fixed position by supporting the back side of the thumb and prevents any flexing of the thumb. Such rigid and fixed methods of support effectively completely immobilize the thumb. However, it is desirable to support the thumb in a manner which permits normal movement of the hand and full motion of the thumb, but prevents the hyper-extension of the thumb backwards. Prior art devices generally do not permit such full motion of the thumb. Further, prior art supports and splints generally obstruct the palm of the hand and thus render the hand movement substantially debilitated. Prior art also may require a glove or glove system to be worn rather than a simple unobtrusive fabric.
The present invention seeks to provide a thumb splint which protects the thumb while allowing substantially normal motion of the hand and thumb without rigid components or necessity to be used as part of a glove, and yet which is of low cost, lightweight, comfortable, easy to apply or remove, and easy to manufacture since it is made of one continuous ribbon of material folded and sewn/bonded.
The present invention is generally defined as a thumb splint comprising a thumb stabilizing component for securing the thumb of the user to the adjacent index finger permitting the thumb to move toward the index finger and leaving the digits free but limiting movement of the thumb away from the index finger to a predetermined angle; and a positioning component for securing the thumb stabilizing component in proper position on the hand of the user.
This unobtrusive and lightweight design will allow it to be used without a glove (e.g. basketball, tennis), or to fit under any other sports glove (e.g. skiing, hockey, baseball, etc.).